Advocacy

This page gives information on what you can do to advocate for Recovery in Lincoln, Nebraska and in the United States. You can take action by contacting your elected officials. Feel free to copy and paste any information you need from this site. - LincolnRecovery.org

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WASHINGTON (Dec. 9, 2006) -- Tough sentencing laws, record numbers of drug offenders and high crime rates have contributed to the United States having the largest prison population and the highest rate of incarceration in the world, according to criminal justice experts. - James Vicini, Reuters

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Elected Officials:

City of Lincoln Government:

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A plan for addiction treatment is here!
Join Together's Blueprint for the States.

When I was the governor of Massachusetts, I witnessed the damage wreaked by an epidemic of drug and alcohol use. I saw the great costs, both personal and financial, and I saw that it was up to me to do something about them. That's why I know that state governments are on the front lines in this battle. And it's why I know that the Blueprint for the States report has the power to create groundbreaking change in the way our nation deals with drug and alcohol problems. I write today to ask you to remind your state legislators and governor that this Blueprint that will save lives is in the mail. Join Together is sending copies of this report to state legislators and governors in all 50 states, with the help of many Join Together subscribers who donated to the effort. Now we need you to get them to read it and take action by holding hearings based on its recommendations. Why do I believe so strongly in the Blueprint report's recommendations? As a former governor, I know how difficult it can be to enact real, long-term change. I would have welcomed a clear set of recommendations like the ones set forth in this report: http://members.jointogether.org/ct/C1MOLPd1wRU2/. And yet it's possible that this Blueprint to save lives wouldn't have made it to my desk. Like most governors, I was often so busy keeping up with the problems associated with drug and alcohol use - the very problems that this important set of recommendations addresses! - that it was hard to make time for solutions. Remember, the November elections are just weeks away, so your candidates are listening to you. After you've sent your message, print out a Blueprint that will save lives and take it with you to candidate forums. Ask candidates to commit to hold hearings on the recommendations. The more attention we can bring to this important set of recommendations, the better - for our states, and for our people. Thank you for all that you do. Remember to vote on November 7th. You can make a difference. Sincerely, Michael Dukakis

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Cut and paste this and send it to your representatives:

Dear Representative/Senator:

As Congress continues to weigh tax and spending priorities, I hope you will consider a logical and popular source of new revenue that deserves your serious review.

A recent survey commissioned by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) examined the public's views on alcohol tax increases and federal funding priorities. It found strong bi-partisan support -- among drinkers and non-drinkers alike -- for increasing federal excise taxes on alcoholic beverages. Among the key findings:

Seventy-one percent of Americans support a five cent per drink increase in federal alcohol taxes;
Seventy-nine percent of Americans support an alcohol tax increase instead of a cut in federal programs;
Fewer than half of Republicans think that five cents was too large an increase, and by more than a two to one margin, Republicans preferred alcohol-tax hikes to cuts in programs such as Medicaid and drug benefits for the elderly.

A tax increase of five cents per drink would yield more than $20 billion in new revenue over the next five years. Raising taxes on alcoholic beverages enjoys such widespread support because most Americans would barely notice an increase: more than one-third of adults don’t drink and among those who do, more than eight in ten drink at most one per day. The alcohol tax, for the most part, would be felt by the 20 percent of drinkers who consume 85 percent of all the alcohol -- those whose heavy and addicted drinking imposes the greatest public health and safety costs to society.

An alcohol excise tax increase is also overdue and fair. Even with the last increase in 1991 (under the “Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1990”), in the past fifty years the relative price of beer has fallen by more than 25 percent relative to the Consumer Price Index, and the effective price of liquor has fallen almost 50 percent.

Please visit CSPI's website for further detail on their national alcohol tax poll, at: http://www.cspinet.org/new/200512071.html

You can find further background on alcohol tax issues at: http://www.cspinet.org/booze/FedBeerTaxTP.htm

I would appreciate knowing your views on this budget option, which I believe would make for sound fiscal and public health policy. Thank you for your consideration.

With best regards,

Name
Address

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Other Organizations working for change in drug and alcohol policy in the United States:

"The United States has 5 percent of the world's population and 25 percent of the world's incarcerated population. We rank first in the world in locking up our fellow citizens," said Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug Policy Alliance, which supports alternatives in the war on drugs.

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The United States has a more punitive criminal justice system than other countries. We send more people to prison, for more different offenses, for longer periods of time than anybody else.

Drug offenders account for about 2 million of the 7 million in prison, on probation or paroled. Other countries often stress treatment instead of incarceration.

- Ryan King, a policy analyst at The Sentencing Project, a group advocating sentencing reform

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Julie Stewart, president of the group Families Against Mandatory Minimums, cited the Justice Department report and said drug offenders are clogging the U.S. justice system.

"Why are so many people in prison? Blame mandatory sentencing laws and the record number of nonviolent drug offenders subject to them," she said.

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